Following widespread acclaim in 2023-2024, Arthur Miller’s timeless Pulitzer Prize-winning classic play Death of a Salesman starring Anthony La Paglia and Alison Whyte will return to Melbourne for a limited season in August, before making its Brisbane debut.
A gripping and emotional exploration of the American Dream and its consequences, Death of a Salesman has resonated with audiences for generations.
Emmy®, Golden Globe® and Tony Award® winner Anthony LaPaglia will reprise his role as Willy Loman, directed by legendary stage and screen director Neil Armfield. They will be joined by a stellar Australian cast, including Logie and Helpmann Award winner Alison Whyte, reprising the role of Linda Loman, the complex and devoted wife of the failing salesman.
The Scoop had the pleasure of chatting to Alison ahead of the season. Alison reflects on working with LaPaglia and Armfield, and discusses the joys of live theatre. Read the full interview below.
You’re returning to Death Of A Salesman after a two-year break. What memories from the original production stand out most to you?
I think the reaction from the audience, and it was universal in each state. There was never a night when we didn’t have people standing. That’s a testament to a beautiful classic, well-constructed play, and a really well-crafted production from Neil Armfield.
It really was a joy to present, and I think audiences got a lot out of it. Just hearing little sobs at the end, it was fabulous, in a sense. To perform this play was a cathartic, beautiful thing, and I’m looking forward to getting back on the boards and doing it.
What is it about Arthur Miller’s canon that makes it stand out from other plays of the 20th century?
I think it really speaks to people in a very honest way. People can really relate to what the characters are going through. I mean, chasing this illusory American Dream, it’s something that we can relate to here in Australia, particularly for young folk. Trying to scrape together a deposit for a mortgage is not exactly easy, and I think with the cost of living, people can relate to that.
The centre of the story sees Willie’s decline and the struggle that Linda has of trying to keep the family together, keep him together, and her two sons, who are not exactly disappointments. But there’s a disappointment that runs through all of the characters’ lives.
Not that that sounds particularly uplifting. I’m just saying that people can understand that there’s an expectation, and not every expectation can be met. Sometimes it’s very unrealistic, and sometimes it’s society that puts it onto you, not just parents that put it onto you. I think people can relate to that.
I’m an actor as well, and I worked with Neil Armfield on The Secret River for the Adelaide Festival.
You lucky thing.
Yes, it was amazing. He was awesome, really receptive to offers. What has your experience been like working with Neil?
I’ve worked with Neil a couple of times. He’s the real deal. As an actor, you just fully trust his pushing and pulling. It was funny doing the requiem of this play, the last little bit of Linda that she has by herself. It was like being conducted by someone. It was such a beautiful, beautiful experience. He’s magical to work with, and there’s a beautiful shorthand, which we have developed over the years, which is great. I’ve been in some doozies with him, so I feel very lucky.
Working with Anthony LaPaglia, a powerhouse of a performer, was there anything about his process that surprised you?
Lots of things, actually. He hadn’t been on the boards for a minute; he’d been doing film and telly. So he would admit that it was hard work. Stage work’s different, and he knew that. I mean, he’s won a Tony. But they’re different processes in a sense. It’s sort of like childbirth. You forget. Then, as soon as the labour pain starts, it all comes flooding back.
But his Willy Loman is sensational. He brings a beautiful humanity and a warmth to it. We get to watch the whole show, because we’re on the bleachers looking down when we’re not performing. And he has an amazing inner life as a performer.
I didn’t see his performance in View From a Bridge, for which he won the Tony, but as a performer watching him, he’s pretty magical up there. It’s going to be a joy to do it again with him.
For audiences who saw the previous production, what can they expect to be different in the 2026 version?
Obviously, whenever you see a show, it’s different every time you see it, even though you have a very strict structure. But that final element that comes into a show, the different audience, makes it a different experience. Because that last element, which is the collective watching it, gives it a fresh and, if it’s even if it’s ever so slight, different feeling.
And that’s the beautiful thing about sitting in a collective and experiencing the story at the same time. It doesn’t happen in our modern world all that much now. And I think that’s very life-affirming and human-affirming to collectively experience a story. It reminds you of your humanity.
People are real. You don’t even know what’s real anymore. Whether it’s an AI-generated performer or not. But people are real. They’re touchable, they’re tangible, they’re experiencing human emotion, human story. And we all want to be reminded every now and then that that’s what we are.
You’ve had an amazing career with some awesome roles in musical theatre, plays, film, TV. What is still on your bucket list?
Sebastien, here’s a bit of advice for a young actor: keep your expectations low. (Laughs) Because you’ll say, “I want to play Juliet.” I still haven’t got there. I don’t think I’m going to get there. I actually don’t know a good role until I bump into it, which seems like a weird thing.
But roles I’ve loved doing include Linda Loman. I’ve loved playing Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie. And roles like Olive in Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. You don’t realise until you’re actually in them how exquisite these roles are. They’re beautiful, and they are experiences that have to be cherished.
Death of a Salesman runs 11 – 22 August at Her Majesty’s Theatre Melbourne. It then runs 28 August – 6 September at the Lyric Theatre, QPAC.
Tickets for Melbourne are here and Brisbane are here.
Website: http://salesmanaustralia.com.au
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/salesmanaustralia/
Heron image: Alison Whyte in Death of a Salesman. Photo by Brett Boardman
